No matter your political affiliation, today is a very special day in history. For the first time, a woman is the Democratic candidate on the presidential ballot.
Women have come pretty far, but there’s still improvement to be made. In American history women have not been allowed to:
- Use contraceptives
- Vote
- Own land
- Keep her job if she became pregnant (you were literally just fired if you got pregnant)
- Own a credit card (we didn’t get this right until 1975 – could you imagine life without your plastic??????)
- Get an ivy league education, or really any form of higher education for that matter
- Refuse to have sex with your husband
- Practice law
- Live with their boyfriend (in 2013, 4 US states still had a law saying that an unmarried woman could not live with another man. 2013, you guys!!!)
However! There’s no law that ever said or currently says that there cannot be a woman President. The only requirements for a President were: 35 years old or older, American born, and had lived in the US for 14 years.
Think of all the amazing things women have done, though. Forbes richest people, Noble prizes, astronauts, and maybe President?
Before Hillary, there have been 12 women who ran for President. In fact, the first woman to run for President was Victoria Woohull in 1872. 50 years before women had the right to vote.
What’s mind boggling is that in dozens of other countries, there have been woman leaders, like Costa Rica, Brazil, Ireland, Slovakia, Pakistan, South Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Central African Republic, Switzerland, and more, yet the US has not. Whether Hillary is to be the next female President, that’s up to the American people. However, I think we can all admit that it’s about time a woman takes the oval office.
Whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independent; whether you support Hillary or you don’t, Hillary Clinton is still the reason that women are taking a major step forward towards total equality. Please be heard, please vote.